Al-Shabaab terrorists target Kenyan military base housing American and local troops - UPDATE: US fatalities reported

RT
Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:02 UTC

Comment: Hmmm, interesting timing. We're not sure what to make of 'al-Shabaab' - 'legit' militia with Sudanese political interests, or an African extension of 'the Western intel terror database', aka al-Qaeda/ISIS?

The timing of this attack is certainly interesting, coming as it does when 'attacks against US troops' are the casus belli for Washington versus Iran in Iraq...

© Stuart Price / AFP / AU-UN Ist Photo

An officer from the Kenyan Contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). October 2012.

Al-Shabaab jihadists have attacked a military base in Kenya which houses US soldiers along with local troops. The army said they managed to repulse the assault, killing four militants.

The attack was on Camp Simba naval base in Manda Bay in Lamu County on Kenya's coast, bordering Somalia.

Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia told the Daily Nation local newspaper that "heavily armed" militants stormed the compound at 4am local time. Witnesses heard gunfire coming from the base.

Photos and videos circulating on social media allegedly show smoke billowing from the site.

The spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, Colonel Paul Njuguna, later said that the attackers tried to seize the Manda airstrip near the base but were repulsed. Four militants were killed, he stated, as quoted by the Standard. There were no immediate reports of casualties among the personnel at the base or civilians.

Established in 2004, Camp Simba is used by the US to train Kenyan naval units, and is believed to play an important role in American operations in Somalia and Yemen, including drone strikes.

Kenyan troops participate in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is aimed at supporting the Somalian government in its fight against Al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab often carries out terrorist attacks in Kenya. In December, militants ambushed a bus in the northern part of the country, killing 11 people, including seven police officers. One of the bloodiest attacks happened in 2013, when the group stormed a high-end shopping mall in Nairobi, the nation's capital, killing more than 60 people, mostly civilians.

Comment: UPDATE 20:00 US Eastern

The Pentagon admits three US fatalities from this attack:

U.S. military's Africa Command have confirmed that one serviceman, two contractors were killed on Sunday when the jihadist militant group al Shabaab attacked a military based in Kenya.

The injured are in stable condition and are being evacuated at the moment, the statement said.

Camp Simba that host US and local troops came under attack on Sunday morning. The naval base is located in Manda Bay in Lamu County on Kenya's coast, bordering Somalia.

The general promised to "pursue those responsible" for the attack and prevent al-Shabaab jihadists from creating a "safe haven" in Africa.

The attack on the military base included "indirect and small arms fire." Though the jihadists made it through the perimeter, they were repelled by forces within the base. Six contractor aircraft vehicles were damaged "to some degree" in the attack.

They took out SIX PLANES?! Wow.

UPDATE 6 Jan 2020

The Pentagon is 'sending reinforcements' to Kenya, specifically to Manda Bay Airfield in Lamu County.

Also, the regular US soldier has been named as "Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., 23, of Evergreen Park, Illinois. He was an air traffic services mechanic."

See also:

• Kenya al-Shabaab attack 'was led by white man speaking fluent British English'
• US citizen pleads guilty to fighting on behalf of Somalia based Al-Shabaab terrorist group
• Al-Shabaab car bomb kills up to 10, injures 20 outside government building in Mogadishu